This one’s not for the faint of heart, people. Masters of making you squirm, Clipping have teamed up with director Anna Zlokovic for the disturbing new “Back Up” video [feat. Antwon and Signor Benedick the Moor], a highlight from the group’s Wriggle EP.
Zlokovic says of the visual, “Through the perspective of an unnamed filmmaker, we stumble upon an accidental and horrifying discovery. What begins as a curious exploration of an abandoned warehouse quickly devolves into the uncovering and filming of an underground, cult-like society—one where adults have baby faces and milk is the drug of choice.”
The “Back Up” video marks another collaboration between Anna, Aporkalypse and Clipping’s members (most specifically, Jonathan Snipes recently contributed sound design for the film, Shorty). Additionally, Zlokovic’s films (based in the psychological sci-fi, psychological horror, body horror genre) and music videos have screened internationally at festivals including SXSW, Santa Barbara Int’l Film Festival, and Fantasia Int’l Film Festival. Her perspective often finds itself joining the cerebral and humanistic, hanging out in a realm where a more fantastical reality meets the mundane.
“Back Up” was also filmed at The Smell––an all-ages DIY music venue in Los Angeles. The Smell has remained a pillar of the LA underground music scene since its founding in the 90’s and is now set for demolition––which has incited a bevy of support for the venue amongst LA musicians/fans. Clipping has played at the The Smell many times & has a long-standing relationship with co-founder Jim Smith. It seemed like a particularly apt place to film––both for aesthetic and sentimental purposes, and in service of the current #savethesmell campaign.
[Please find a full list of production credits below.]
Clipping’s previously announced 2017 North American headline and support dates begin February 17th in Santa Ana, CA at The Observatory runs through April 4th in St. Petersburg, FL at Jannus Live. Highlights for the tour include headline shows (February 17th-24th; March 10th, March 16th, April 3rd), appearances at the Noise Pop Festival (February 24th-25th) and a direct support run opening for the Flaming Lips (March 3rd-14th; March 29th-April 4th). Tour dates are below.
Splendor & Misery is available on CD/LP/DL/CASS worldwide from Sub Pop right over here and Deathbomb Arc here. The album features the highlights “Baby Don’t Sleep,” “A Better Place,” and “Air ‘Em Out,” was produced by the band, and mixed by Steve Kaplan in Los Angeles. The Wriggle EP is also available from Sub Pop, here.
Tour Dates Feb. 17 - Santa Ana, CA - The Observatory^ [Sold Out] Feb. 18 - Los Angeles, CA - The Broad^ [Sold Out] Feb. 20 - Portland, OR - Holocene^ [Sold Out] Feb. 21 - The, Seattle, WA - The Crocodile^ [Sold Out] Feb. 22 - Vancouver, BC - Biltmore Cabaret^ Feb. 24 - Oakland, CA - Starline Social Club (Noise Pop!)^ [Sold Out] Feb. 25 - San Francisco, CA - Brick & Mortar Club (Noise Pop!) ^ [Sold Out] Mar. 03 - Boston, MA - House of Blues * Mar. 04 - Philadelphia, PA - The Fillmore * Mar. 05 - Washington, DC - 930 Club * Mar. 06 - Washington, DC - 930 Club * Mar. 09 - New York City, NY - Terminal 5 * Mar. 10 - Brooklyn, NY - Rough Trade NYC ^^ Mar. 11 - Westbury, NY - The Space at Westbury * Mar. 13 - Toronto, ON - Rebel * Mar. 14 - Royal Oak, MI - Royal Oak Theater * Mar. 16 - Chicago, IL - Subterranean Mar. 29 - Nashville, TN - War Memorial Auditorium * Mar. 30 - Charlotte, NC - The Fillmore * Mar. 31 - Raleigh, NC - The Ritz * Apr. 02 - Atlanta, GA - Tabernacle * Apr. 03 - Orlando, FL - The Social ** Apr. 04 - St. Petersburg, FL - Jannus Live * * w/ The Flaming Lips ^ w/Baseck
** w/ They Hate Change
^^ w/ Jason Forrest
*“Back Up” credits: Directed by Anna Zlokovic Produced by Simona Kessler, Alex Familian & Anna Zlokovic AD: Rene Gannon-O’Gara Cinematography by Powell Robinson VFX by Alex Familian Production Designed by Devin Cheney Set Decorator: Sydney Marquez Costuming and HMU by Nadine Sondej-Robinson Editing by Anna Zlokovic & Powell Robinson Sound Design by Jonathan Snipes Additional Casting by Luka Fisher 1st AC: Carter Ross Colorist: Powell Robinson Production Manager: Alex Lark Production Coordinator: Chase Niesner PAs and Costuming Assistants: Andy Riviera & Jordan Vazcones
Starring the bodies of: Daveed Diggs, Antwon, Signor Benedick the Moor, Andrew Varenhorst, Dani Goffstein, Evita Castine, Patrick Robert Young, Evanne Friedmann, Yazmin Watkins, Nadine L. Robinson, Daniel Crook, Jared Michael Degado, Ivo Buhles, Genevieve Munroe, Peter Kalisch, Devin Cheney, & Carter Ross.
Special thanks to all the baby parents & chaperones: Jill Fogel, Karla Garcia, Amyre Rachal-Carter, Adriana Benvenuto, Emily Rubio, Natasha Oiye, Dorian Gray, Ena Fleming, Afton Adams, & Leslie Adams.
A very special thanks to: Jim Smith & Michael Fierstein of The Smell, Jack Kovacs and Ember the cat, Theo Pappas at Santa Monica Video, Youth Talent Connection, Sasha Venn, Jules Bruff, Sage Lewis, Spitz, The Blue Cube, Co-Opportunity Market + Deli, & Jeremy McLennan.
Clipping just shared a darkly surreal, post-apocalyptic short film - directed by Patrick Kennelly (“Body & Blood”) - inspired by their current and critically acclaimed album, Splendor & Misery [get it here].
The 405 had this to say of the film (and album), “Early this past fall, L.A. rap deconstructionist trio, Clipping delivered their latest challenging experimental full-length album. It was billed as a thematic release that “follows the sole survivor of a slave uprising on an interstellar cargo ship, and the on-board computer that falls in love with him.” On top of the technical rap reflections that make up the album, the trio are supporting their intriguing narrative with a short film of the same name, that brings the album’s unearthly concepts to life. Director, Patrick Kennelly helped piece together the surreal post-apocalyptic drama that’s equal parts fascinating and equal parts difficult to watch (see premiere December 13th).
Clipping are currently on tour in Europe (their forthcoming London show at Corsica Studios on 20th December has now sold out and a second night at the same venue has now been added) and the trio have been chosen to support The Flaming Lips on tour in North America next year! (see dates below.)
The band recently appeared on Conan and delivered a stellar performance of “Air ‘Em Out [see here].” And you can/should also watch Clipping’s official video “Shooter,” from Wriggle, the group’s summer EP, directed by Carlos Lopez Estrada [see here].
Splendor & Misery is available now on CD/LP/DL/CASS worldwide from Sub Pop [here] and Deathbomb Arc [here].
Tour Dates + Ticket Links Dec. 13 - Amsterdam, NL - Sugar Factory Dec. 14 - Hamburg, DE - Hafenklang Dec. 15 - Berlin, DE - Cassiopeia Dec. 16 - Frankfurt, DE - Zoom Dec. 17 - Munich, DE - Orange House Dec. 18 - Düsseldorf, DE - FFT Foyer Dec. 19 - Paris, FR - Batofar Dec. 20 - London, UK - Corsica Studios [Sold Out] Dec. 21 - London, UK - Corsica Studios Feb. 17 - Santa Ana, CA - The Observatory * Feb. 18 - Los Angeles, CA - The Broad * Feb. 20 - Portland, OR - Holocene * Feb. 21 - Seattle, WA - The Crocodile * Feb. 22 - Vancouver, BC - Biltmore Cabaret * Feb. 24 - Oakland, CA - Starline Social Club (Noise Pop!) * Feb. 25 - San Francisco, CA - Brick & Mortar Music Hall * Mar. 03 - Boston, MA - House of Blues ** Mar. 04 - Philadelphia, PA - The Fillmore ** Mar. 05 - Washington, DC - 930 Club ** Mar. 06 - Washington, DC - 930 Club ** Mar. 09 - New York City, NY - Terminal 5 ** Mar. 11 - Westbury, NY - The Space at Westbury ** Mar. 13 - Toronto, ON - Rebel ** Mar. 14 - Royal Oak, MI - Royal Oak Theater ** Mar. 29 - Nashville, TN - War Memorial Auditorium ** Mar. 30 - Charlotte, NC - The Fillmore ** Mar. 31 - Raleigh, NC - The Ritz ** Apr. 02 - Atlanta, GA - Tabernacle ** Apr. 04 - St. Petersburg, FL - Jannus Live ** * w/Baseck ** w/ The Flaming Lips
Clipping’s “Shooter,” a standout from Wriggle, the group’s summer EP, now has an officially official video (as seen above) directed by the massively talented Carlos Lopez Estrada.
1/3 of Clipping - William Hutson - had this to say about it, “Since the beginning of the band, we had discussed making a dance video for one of our songs but didn’t think we could actually pull it off. When Voltaire Wade-Green offered to choreograph something for us, we jumped at the chance to work with him and the other dancers (all of whom were Hamilton ensemble members at the time). He and Carlos conceived the video together based on the scenarios of gun violence depicted in the song’s lyrics, and managed to match the cheery tone of the song to the seriousness of its themes.”
[Photo Credit : Brian Tamborello]
The band also just added European dates to its 2016 tour schedule in support of Wriggle, and Splendor & Misery, their Sci Fi-Dystopian concept record released last month. The new dates begin December 9th in Brussels at M4 and end December 20th in London at Corsica Studios. The tour will include stops in Tel Aviv, Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris, and more. Clipping is currently in the midst of an east coast co-headline a tour with Youth Code (through November 4th). The group will also perform on Conan on TBS Thursday, November 17th. Current tour dates are below.
Frankly, there is no shortage of Clipping related news we can’t shut up about. On their recent Seattle visit, Clipping sat for an interview with the Sub Pop Podcast, where they discussed art, intention and believe it or not, killer conference papers [listen here]. Frontman Daveed Diggs is also the current cover star of FLOOD Magazine’s 5th issue [view here]. And late last week, Clipping delivered “Fat Fingers,” a new, anti-Trump song for 30 Songs, 30 Days campaign [listen here].
Splendor & Misery is available now on CD/LP/DL/CASS worldwide from Sub Pop [here] and Deathbomb Arc [here]. For proof that this album is actually “fire” as the kids say, see/hear: “Baby Don’t Sleep,” “A Better Place,” and “Air ‘Em Out”. The also excellent (also pretty fire) Wriggle EP is available from Sub Pop right over here.
Tour Dates + Ticket Links Nov. 01 - St. Petersberg, FL - Local 662 * Nov. 02 - Atlanta, GA - The Earl * Nov. 04 - Austin, TX - Sound on Sound Festival Nov. 17 - Los Angeles, CA - CONAN (TV appearance). Dec. 09 - Brussels, BE - M4 Dec. 10 - Tilburg, NL - Incubate / 013 Dec. 12 - Tel Aviv, IR - Gagarin Dec. 13 - Amsterdam, NL - Sugar Factory Dec. 14 - Hamburg, DE - Hafenklang Dec. 15 - Berlin, DE - Cassiopeia Dec. 16 - Frankfurt, DE - Zoom Dec. 17 - Munich, DE - TBA Dec. 18 - Düsseldorf, DE - FFT Foyer Dec. 19 - Paris, FR - TBA Dec. 20 - London, UK - Corsica Studios * w/ Youth Code ^ World War (fka Mincemeat or Tenspeed)
Listen to the Season 2 trailer, and subscribe now!
Mere months after its unforeseeably really, pretty great first season earlier this year, and in response to largely precedented levels of demand for more, the Sub Pop Podcast will return for a 10-episode second season on Wednesday, October 12th. Season Two of the Sub Pop Podcast will run weekly from October 12th through December 14th and will be available through all finer podcast distribution points.
Produced and hosted by real-life Sub Pop employees Alissa Atkins and Arwen Nicks at the label’s Seattle headquarters, the Sub Pop Podcast, of course, is where you can hear stories from inside, outside, and adjacent to Sub Pop, Seattle’s premier medium-sized record label. We focus on conversations with our artists, people who work at/with/around Sub Pop, and anyone else willing or reckless enough to talk to us. And same goes for our sibling label Hardly Art. We will continue to include, impose on, sponge off, and otherwise implicate them, as well.
In its conspicuously excellent debut season, from January 10th of this year, through to April 1st, we managed to produce and then release 11 (which, for some reason, we called 10 ½…) episodes of Sub Pop’s very first podcast. And then, between April 1 and now, we put out an additional two, interstitial, summer episodes in an effort to sustain the arguably ravenous interest of our dozens upon dozens of regular listeners. We spoke with principal members of Band of Horses, Mass Gothic, Chastity Belt, Mudhoney, Shearwater, S, King Tuff, and a whole bunch more. And, we were recognized with an Honorable Mention in the Seattle Weekly’s 2016 Readers’ Poll for local, music-based podcasts which currently exist! This sort of intoxicating recognition has us gunning for at least second runner-up next year. The entirety of this first season, and our summer episodes remain available everywhere now.
In the upcoming second season, unrelated to any outstanding debts or lost bets, we managed to convince an impressive array of folks to talk with us. Here we are referring to such celebrated figures from the wide world of entertainment as: Alex and Victoria from Beach House, Sam Beam from Iron and Wine, Tad from TAD, Benjamin Gibbard from both Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service, Kathleen Hanna, Father John Misty, Jonah Ray, members of CSS and Clipping, our boss and benefactor Jonathan Poneman (More than once! He’s the boss!), plus, reliably, “more.” We also took the Sub Pop Podcast on the road, with trips to both Poland and Portland, and down to the Sub Pop store at Sea-Tac Airport.
In the spirit of tell and show, you can listen to a trailer for the Sub Pop Podcast, Season Two (and, again, every previous episode) at subpop.fm RIGHT NOW. If you like what you hear, you can subscribe (in iTunes or anything) right now, too. The first episode of the new season will be available Wednesday, October 12, and new episodes will be delivered weekly until December 14, 2016.
SO! Visit subpop.fm to listen to the new trailer for the second season, subscribe to the podcast, and sign up for the podcast mailing list. Send us your thoughts and feelings here: podcast@subpop.com.
The Sub Pop Podcast: Absolutely nothing sounds better.
Experimental Noise Hip-Hop trio Clipping made its network television debut on the Late, Late Show with James Corden just last night, performing “A Better Place” off Splendor & Misery (stream the album here). Set your sights on this magnificent performance right here, right now.
Corden also caught up with Diggs about a number of topics, including texting regularly with his childhood hero, MC Hammer [watch it here].
Clipping is also the subject of features this week, in both the Los Angeles Times [link] and The New York Times [link].
Splendor & Misery, Clipping’s Sci-Fi/dystopian concept album, is out Friday, September 9th on CD/LP/DL/CASS, worldwide from Sub Pop [link here] and Deathbomb Arc [link here]. The album is led by highlight tracks “Baby Don’t Sleep,” “A Better Place,” and “Air ‘Em Out,”
Preorders through Sub Pop Mega Mart and independent retailers near you will receive the Loser edition on crystal clear vinyl (while supplies last; we’re nearly sold out of these beauties in the Mega Mart).
Clipping’s current tour schedule in support of Splendor & Misery and its summer predecessor, the Wriggle EP (get it here), includes: two hometown appearances tonight, Thursday, September 8th beginning with an in-store at Amoeba Records in Hollywood (6pm), and concluding with a headline show at Highways Performance Space with Busdriver and Pedestrian Deposit (9pm); September 11th at the San Francisco Electronic Music Festival.
TOUR UPDATE - Dates added as follows: beginning October 26th in Brooklyn at the Market Hotel and ending November 4th in Austin at Sound on Sound Music Festival. Along the way, the group will see support from Youth Code (October 26-November 2nd). Preceding the tour there will be two Southern California shows including the just-announced appearance on September 24th at Music Tastes Good Festival, and September 30th in Los Angeles at the Smell with The Mae Shi. There will be additional live dates announced soon, but for now see current dates below.
Recently, Clipping also released the gravity-defying “Air ‘Em Out” visual, which was directed by returning director Carlos Lopez Estrada (“Work Work,” “Inside Out”), and stars the group’s lyricist/frontman Daveed Diggs. (yes, he’s that Hamilton Musical, Tony Award Winning actor.)
[Photo Credit: Brian Tamborello]
What precisely have The People said about Splendor & Misery? We’re glad you asked:
“A magnificent, nerve-jangling and altogether rather riveting blast of unflinching white noise and throb, virtuoso rapping and, most improbable of all, richly romantic gospel-choir interludes designed as much to disconcert as to offer tuneful respite from and guidance through the surrounding sonic shrapnel.” [9/10, Album of the Week] - Loud & Quiet
“A hugely inventive slab of sonic theatre plotted to the tiniest detail..” [4/5] - MOJO
“Replete with sci-fi references and nudges to Afrofuturist musicians before them, the album confronts the crushing darkness inherent to the alienation of black diaspora and speculates on the identity as an intrinsically fluid process. Splendor & Misery is sincere and staunchly ambitious. With it, clipping. Have solidified their position at the forefront of experimental music.” [8.6/10] - Northern Transmissions
“The production, helmed by dual composers William Hutson and Jonathan Snipes, make use of field recording techniques only instead of chimes and sampled radio alarms, the sharp clangs of breached hulls and airlocks closing are the content used to create these paranoia inducing and dissonant instrumentals. What makes Splendor & Misery beckon for repeat listens, bar Daveed Diggs torrential flow, is how concise and dense the record is. It flows like a satellite in orbit, emerging over horizons witnessing serene beauty only to encounter disruptive asteroid belts moments later like the three ‘Interlude’ tracks where Daveed spits over broken and static-laced connections.” [8/10] - CLASH
“Utterly uncomfortable, but with such an imaginative foundation that you can’t help but feel invited back to try to learn a little more about the strange and beautiful world of Clipping.” [8/10] - Under the Radar
“The space hiphoperatics of California trio Clipping extend the story of the middle passage into the cosmos.” [Album review] - The Wire
“It’s Afro-futurist dystopia from an album…that tells the “Her”-like love story of a man who survives a slave uprising on an interstellar ship and an onboard computer. That might explain the industrial sounds, pre- and post-digital revolution, and the sense of disorientation; but you don’t need to know it to feel the track’s organization and power.” [“Baby Don’t Sleep,” Playlist] - New York Times
“Beatmakers Snipes and Hutson send you plummeting into the mainframe with a musique concrète cut-up beat of television fuzz and white noise. Negative space sucks the air out of your chest as Diggs raps in an arresting staccato, deconstructing the hegemony in a most deliberate manner: “Saviors are fiction / memories are fading like ghosts.” [“Baby Don’t Sleep”] - Passion of the Weiss
“This bangs, in the most enervating fashion possible.” [“Baby Don’t Sleep”] - Stereogum
“Spirits are present in clipping.’s video for “Air ‘Em Out.” We open on frontman Daveed Diggs settling in to another shift at his jumpsuit-requiring place of employment. As the beat builds, however, mysterious tremors start to unsettle Diggs and the litany of office supplies at his desk. It’s another top-quality video from a group that has made a habit of just that, a simple idea perfectly executed.” [“Air ‘Em Out,” Best Videos of August 2016] - Pigeons & Planes
Clipping just dropped their official video for “Air ‘Em Out,” another stellar track off their upcoming Sci-Fi/dystopian concept album Splendor & Misery (outSeptember 9th via Sub Pop and Deathbomb Arc.
Lopez Estrada says of the clip, “I met with clipping a few months ago to talk about potential ideas for this video and Jonathan half jokingly said that we should put Daveed in zero gravity. I emailed them back a few days later saying “I know you were kidding, but what if we do?” We then embarked on a wonderful creative journey of scrappy visual effect techniques and ended up with our own janky version of zero gravity, which turned up to be a pretty cool thing, I believe.”
Splendor & Misery is led by the highlights “Baby Don’t Sleep,” “A Better Place,” and the aforementioned “Air ‘Em Out,”and is now available for preorder on CD/LP/DL/CASS from Sub Pop [here] and Deathbomb Arc [here]. Preorders through Sub Pop Mega Mart and independent retailers near you will receive the Loser edition - pictured above - on crystal clear vinyl while supplies last.
Additionally, Wriggle, the group’s recent surprise EP, is also available [right over here].
Clipping’s current tour schedule in support of Wriggle and Splendor & Misery includes: A hometown release show on September 8th in Los Angeles at Highways Performance Space (with Busdriver and Pedestrian Deposit); September 11th at the San Francisco Electronic Music Festival; And September 30th in Los Angeles at the Smell. More dates will be announced soon, and the current schedule is below.
[Photo Credit: Sarah Sitkin]
Tour Dates + Ticket Links Sep. 08 - Los Angeles, CA - Highways Performance Space* Sep. 11 - San Francisco, CA - San Francisco Electronic Music Festival Sep. 30 - Los Angeles, CA - The Smell (Benefit Show)** * w/ Busdriver, Pedestrian Deposit ** w/ The Mae Shi
